13" Retina or 15" Retina...

[forza69]

Good to hear, I'm getting mine (256GB) next Thursday. Can't wait!



Just curious, but why/how is the 13" Retina a "total ripoff"? I was sold on an Air until I was in the store last week and saw the 13" Retina side-by-side with the 13" Air; the top-tier Retina has a faster processor, 4GB more memory, and the same 256GB storage and graphics as the Air. So for $500 bucks I get a noticeably better screen, 4GB more memory and a faster processor (or $300 more for a nicer screen if I ordered the faster processor and extra memory). I think I can live with that.

And I'm far from a computer person memory and graphics cards and this "discrete graphics" (whatever that is) I keep hearing about don't mean much to me; I get the higher value is often better...that's why I ask.

Exactly. And that's why you don't get that the 13 inch is a ripoff.

 

[07dodge]

Exactly. And that's why you don't get that the 13 inch is a ripoff.

If that's the best reply, I'll assume you don't know either. I asked why...your base 15" must be a ripoff as well then?

 

[Livewings]

Good to hear, I'm getting mine (256GB) next Thursday. Can't wait!



Just curious, but why/how is the 13" Retina a "total ripoff"? I was sold on an Air until I was in the store last week and saw the 13" Retina side-by-side with the 13" Air; the top-tier Retina has a faster processor, 4GB more memory, and the same 256GB storage and graphics as the Air. So for $500 bucks I get a noticeably better screen, 4GB more memory and a faster processor (or $300 more for a nicer screen if I ordered the faster processor and extra memory). I think I can live with that.

And I'm far from a computer person, memory and graphics cards and this "discrete graphics" (whatever that is) I keep hearing about don't mean much to me; I get the higher value is often better...that's why I ask.

So you say you want faster processor, more memory and storage?
You want the top-tier 13 Retina, but I think you should just add a few bucks more for 15 base Retina.

Dedicated graphics + Quad-Core make a lot of difference plus as a bonus you get a better screen.

I think you can live with it. Nobody complained the 13" cMBP being too heavy before.
So now what? It's heavy? Don't tell me about its mass being bigger. For the extra power, it's so entirely worth it considering it weights less than the current 13" cMBP.

13" Retina is a RIPOFF. Avoid it at best, no matter how tempting it is

 

[racer1441]

I got both, so that's my suggestion.

 

[ob81]

I had the 13" for 2 weeks and took it back. I ended up going with a base 15" rMBP with 16gb ram added. I just couldn't pay the premium knowing I would never upgrade the computer and the graphics weren't up to par.

The 15" is a better buy hands down.

 

[Mercmanman]

I own the 13" for its portability. Yes the 15 has more bang for the buck in processor and graphics, but those graphics kill battery life for one, and it is considerably heavier and much larger in footprint. So for portability, battery life and mobility, it's 13 all the way. Using a 15" on a plane does not work at all, and it is a noticeable difference in your backpack too.

If it sits on a desk all day, then the 15 is great. If you take it places, get the 13

 

[Livewings]

I own the 13" for its portability. Yes the 15 has more bang for the buck in processor and graphics, but those graphics kill battery life for one, and it is considerably heavier and much larger in footprint. So for portability, battery life and mobility, it's 13 all the way. Using a 15" on a plane does not work at all, and it is a noticeable difference in your backpack too.

If it sits on a desk all day, then the 15 is great. If you take it places, get the 13

It is switchable, you can force to only run the integrated graphics.
If you really want portability, yet just a little slower performance to 13" rMBP, get the 13" MBA.
If you want a REAL pro machine but light and with value, get the 13" cMBP for value and cost or directly go to 15" rMBP which is lighter than the 13" cMBP but with a larger footprint and get alot more performance out of that machine.

13" rMBP is a ripoff, money-grubbing machine that is an embarrassment to Apple.

 

[zoobzone]

The screen real estate for 13" was too small for me, thats why I went with a 15" rMBP.

The thing is even quieter than my 2012 Mac Mini, I see no noticeable slowdowns with the 15" retina after installing the latest webkit nightly.

I believe you also get improved speakers on the 15" over the 13".

I don't actually think the 13" is too overpriced, it's competing directly against ASUS UX31 and other PC ultrabooks, for $100-200 more you're getting a real mobile CPU thats not ULV and one of the best screens on the market.

 

[07dodge]

Ok, so I went to Apple's website, and aside from the slightly larger size (~2" wider, 1" deeper, 1lb heavier), and more pixels for the larger screen, the only difference I'm seeing is the NVIDIA graphics.

What's the importance of the NVIDIA graphics over what the 13" has? For $200 more if it's really worth it I'm game. Why is the 13" lacking in graphics, and is this in terms of games (I don't play games)?

Thanks, I want to get it right the first time.

 

[AndreasM]

Ok, so I went to Apple's website, and aside from the slightly larger size (~2" wider, 1" deeper, 1lb heavier), and more pixels for the larger screen, the only difference I'm seeing is the NVIDIA graphics.

What's the importance of the NVIDIA graphics over what the 13" has? For $200 more if it's really worth it I'm game. Why is the 13" lacking in graphics, and is this in terms of games (I don't play games)?

Thanks, I want to get it right the first time.

You also get quad core and possibility to upgrade to 16 GB RAM in 15.

I'm in the same situation as you, I can't decide if I should choose 15 or 13 or just wait for next generation in summer 2013.

 

[hypobid]

Ok, so I went to Apple's website, and aside from the slightly larger size (~2" wider, 1" deeper, 1lb heavier), and more pixels for the larger screen, the only difference I'm seeing is the NVIDIA graphics.

What's the importance of the NVIDIA graphics over what the 13" has? For $200 more if it's really worth it I'm game. Why is the 13" lacking in graphics, and is this in terms of games (I don't play games)?

Thanks, I want to get it right the first time.

If you're a gamer or a person that does a lot with photo editing, then the dedicated graphics card is definitely worth it, plus it'll help a lot on resale, however, if your main use is web browsing, emailing, spreadsheets, word docs, etc., then a dedicated graphics card is not really necessary, in my opinion (to each his/her own).

In my opinion (and it seems a lot of folks agree), $1699 is a lot if dough for the 13" rMBP. Over the past month or so, Frys has had the 13" rMPB on sale for $1499 (right now, it's not on sale, unfortunately). I would wait until they put it back on sale and then have Best Buy price match. Other option is to buy the 15" rMPB via MacMall when they drop the price to $1999. You need to use the Apple Insider link to get the price down to $1999. Right around Halloween they had the $1999 deal going. I would expect to see this deal again sometime after the first of January. Hope this helps

 

[stevelam]

As someone who owns a 13" MacBook and 15" Rmbp (both weigh about the same with the Rmbp being a tad lighter) I can tell you there is no difference at all in ease of travel for both. Anyone telling you it's "substantially" more is ridiculous.

 

[Daniel L]

I own the 13" for its portability. Yes the 15 has more bang for the buck in processor and graphics, but those graphics kill battery life for one, and it is considerably heavier and much larger in footprint. So for portability, battery life and mobility, it's 13 all the way. Using a 15" on a plane does not work at all, and it is a noticeable difference in your backpack too.

If it sits on a desk all day, then the 15 is great. If you take it places, get the 13

This is completely wrong.

First, the 15" is equipped with both the slow integrated graphics processor and discrete graphics processor. You can choose to use the less power hungry GPU in the interest of extending battery life using gfxCardstatus so that's a non issue.

Second, the 15" is thinner and less than 1 lb heavier. As others have pointed out, it's not a problem to use it on an airplane. If you have anything other than your computer in your backpack, it'd be very difficult to discern between having the 13" or 15" inside.

 

[Daniel L]

Ok, so I went to Apple's website, and aside from the slightly larger size (~2" wider, 1" deeper, 1lb heavier), and more pixels for the larger screen, the only difference I'm seeing is the NVIDIA graphics.

What's the importance of the NVIDIA graphics over what the 13" has? For $200 more if it's really worth it I'm game. Why is the 13" lacking in graphics, and is this in terms of games (I don't play games)?

Thanks, I want to get it right the first time.

You also get 4 CPUs instead of 2. If you never ever play 3D games at all and don't use GPU accelerated apps (Photoshop, Aperture, Premiere, Final Cut, list goes on) you're not likely to notice the lack of a discrete GPU. Just to throw things in perspective, the integrated GPU (Intel HD Graphics 4000) is slower than a discrete GPU from 2006 (Nvidia GTX8800). It's something that's several times faster when you need it but useless if you never need it.

Example: http://people.mozilla.org/~jmuizelaar/fishie/fishie-gl.html

On integrated graphics:
Can't break 60FPS with 10 fish
10000 fish: 7 FPS

On discrete graphics:
1000 fish: 60FPS
2000 fish: 60FPS
10000 fish: 41FPS

 

[robvas]

As someone who owns a 13" MacBook and 15" Rmbp (both weigh about the same with the Rmbp being a tad lighter) I can tell you there is no difference at all in ease of travel for both. Anyone telling you it's "substantially" more is ridiculous.

It's the size. It's so much easier to stick a 13" into a bag than a 15". And the 11" Air is another level above that.

 

[ipodmac]

is it worth waiting for the new ones in 2013 or just get the 15" one now?

 

[M Powered]

I don't get why some think the 13" rmbp is a rip off?

the 13" rmbp has enough specs above the 13" air to justify the additional 200$

Yes I do agree the 15" rmbp is a better buy IF you need the additional hardware and screen real estate. Because for the extra $500 you do get a lot.

 

[N19h7m4r3]

It's the size. It's so much easier to stick a 13" into a bag than a 15". And the 11" Air is another level above that.

I travel a lot, and walk everywhere.

My bag isn't all that big and fits my folders and A4 sized pads along with a 15" rMBP easily.

Compared to a 15" MBP or even a windows based laptop of that size weight is a non-issue and the extra two inches don't make a difference. I personally also consider the 13" rMBP to be a waste of many for what you get. If you then drop down tot he 13" MBP it weighs the same as the 15 rMBP but doesn't have any of it's advantages.

 

[inaka]

I love phrases like "waste of money" when describing these products.
What is important to one is not important to the other.

Buy the computer YOU want, and not what other people say what works for THEM.

Just because the 15" might yield more bang for your buck, doesn't mean that the 13" is a "waste of money". Some people may like the greater portability, smaller footprint and less weight of the 13" over a discrete GPU.

 

[07dodge]

Thanks for the replies, I appreciate it.

I may have been convinced to go the 15" route; I measured my current VAIO last night and compared to the 15" measurements and the Retina will be 1.5" narrower, ~.5" thinner, and just over 1lb lighter. I've packed that VAIO back and forth from home and school without issue for 2 years, shaving some weight won't hurt.

I do plan on some light photo editing and maybe some video (maybe) so it sounds like the 15" will be better, until I get an iMac or something.

Hopefully the store has them in stock next week, the base 256GB and 8GB model (it's an Apple-authorized third party, not an Apple store).

Oh and quad core=faster?

Sorry to the OP for hijacking his thread

 

[KPOM]

15
The current rMBP 15 weights less than cMBP 13.

So I say portability of 15 rMBP is the same as the current 13 cMBP.

THERE'S NO EXCUSE.
13 rMBP IS A TOTAL RIPOFF.

If you really want 13, get the MBA.

I just purchased the 13" rMBP to replace a lost 11" MBA. I was happy with the MBA's performance, so the 13" will likely be just fine. The 13" Retina Pro is slightly narrower than the 13" Air, though it is a bit heavier.

For me it comes down to the portability. The 15" is just too big. I'd actually prefer an 11" rMBP. Maybe we'll see one in 2013.

 

[jetjaguar]

I travel a lot, and walk everywhere.

My bag isn't all that big and fits my folders and A4 sized pads along with a 15" rMBP easily.

Compared to a 15" MBP or even a windows based laptop of that size weight is a non-issue and the extra two inches don't make a difference. I personally also consider the 13" rMBP to be a waste of many for what you get. If you then drop down tot he 13" MBP it weighs the same as the 15 rMBP but doesn't have any of it's advantages.

what bag is that

 

[jenz]

I travel a lot, and walk everywhere.

My bag isn't all that big and fits my folders and A4 sized pads along with a 15" rMBP easily.

Compared to a 15" MBP or even a windows based laptop of that size weight is a non-issue and the extra two inches don't make a difference. I personally also consider the 13" rMBP to be a waste of many for what you get. If you then drop down tot he 13" MBP it weighs the same as the 15 rMBP but doesn't have any of it's advantages.

Agree with you, and... Love that bag!!! Where did you get it?

 

[vpro]

I'd wait..

I'd wait a couple of years for 'them' to get it right.

 

[runebinder]

It's the size. It's so much easier to stick a 13" into a bag than a 15". And the 11" Air is another level above that.

Depends on the bag. I have a rucksack designed for 15" notebooks and manage with my 2010 15" MBP without any issues. When I upgrade to a 15" rMBP next month it's going to take up a marginal amount of space in the bag.